Requirements for Academic Standing and Promotion

I – 1.1 Academic Standing
Students will be considered to be in good academic standing if they complete all courses, attain the minimum passing grade of B- (70%) in each course, and a minimum cumulative average of a mid B (73%) in each academic year. The schedule of release dates on which students can view final grades on the Student Web Service (SWS) are listed in the SGS Calendar.

SGS Grading Scale

Truncated Refined Letter Grade Scale (Graduate)

Numerical Scale of Marks

A+

90 – 100%

A

85 – 89%

A-

80 – 84%

B+

77 – 79%

B

73 – 76%

B-

70 – 72%

FZ**

0 – 69%

Alternate SGS Grading Scale for Fieldwork

CR = Pass (Credit Earned),

NCR = Failure (No Credit Earned)

I – 1.2 Promotion and Eligibility to Graduate

a) Promotion is from one complete academic year to the next, culminating in graduation. Promotion in the program from Year One to Year Two is considered at the end of Year 1/Term Three. Year One students will be considered eligible for promotion if they complete each first year course, pass each course, attain the minimum passing grade of B- (70%) in each first year graded course, and obtain a minimum cumulative average of mid B (73%) at the end of Year One. (For consequences of course failure, see below.)

A student who passes each course but does not attain a minimum cumulative average of 73% at the end of Year One, will normally be put on probation and be allowed to continue, provisionally, from Year One to Year Two. In each case the student will be given, in writing, the criteria for clearing the provisional status and securing progression to Year Two. The conditions of this provisional continuation to Year Two must be cleared by the end of Term Four. It is the student’s responsibility to meet with his/her Faculty Advisor to develop an individual academic plan to improve and monitor performance while remaining on probation and to clear the provisional status. If provisional status is not cleared by the end of Term Four, the Department will immediately move to terminate the student’s registration in the program.

b) Eligibility to graduate from the program is considered at the end of Year Two/Term Six. Year Two students will be considered eligible for graduation if they pass each course, attain a minimum passing grade of B- (70%) in each second year graded course, and a minimum cumulative average of mid-B (73%) at the end of Year Two.

I – 1.3 Consequences of Course Failure

a) If a student fails any one course (i.e., obtains less than 70% in a graded course) in an academic year but has a minimum cumulative average, at the time, equal to or greater than average of 73%, the student will normally be asked to repeat the failed course to continue in the MScOT program. In order to repeat a failed course, the student will normally have to step out of the program until the next year when he/she can re-enroll in the failed course. (This is due to the nature of the program as most courses are only offered once a year). The student would normally be required to submit all assignments in the repeated course for grading according to the course outline then in use. The student will be required to register in the program for all additional terms required and must pay fees accordingly. If the student successfully completes the repeated course, the student would rejoin the program at the beginning of the term which would normally have followed, if the course had not been failed. The student will be required to register in the program for all additional terms required and must pay fees accordingly. For further consequences related specifically to failure in fieldwork courses, refer to the departmental MScOT Fieldwork Resource Manual.

b) If a student fails any one course in an academic year AND does not have a minimum cumulative average at the time of 73%, the Chair of the Department will immediately request to the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) that the student’s registration be terminated.

A student may appeal the termination of their registration to the Graduate Academic Appeals Board (GAAB) of SGS for reconsideration of the decision. If the appeal is granted, the student may repeat the course.
i. To repeat the course, the student will normally be required to step out of the program for a year, being allowed to return during that year solely to repeat the failed course. The student would normally be required to submit all assignments in the repeated course for grading according to the course outline then in use. The student would then rejoin the program at the beginning of the term which would normally have followed if the course had not been failed. The student will be required to register in the program for all additional terms required and must pay fees accordingly.

If the course is passed but the cumulative average is not reached, the student will be placed on academic probation. The conditions for provisional continuation in the program must be cleared by the end of the term in which the student re-enters the program. The student will be given, in writing, the criteria for clearing the provisional status and securing progression in the program. It is the student’s responsibility to meet with his/her Faculty Advisor to develop an individual academic plan to improve and monitor performance while remaining on probation and to clear the provisional status. If provisional status is not cleared by the end of the term in which the student re-enters the program, the Chair of the Department will request that SGS immediately terminate the student’s registration.

c) Failed courses can only be retaken once.

d) If a student fails two or more courses in an academic year regardless of the cumulative average, the Department will request that the School of Graduate Studies immediately terminate the student’s registration.

e) Students are advised to be aware of their rights in regards to academic appeal as outlined below.

I – 1.4 Academic Appeal

Students may, on occasion, dispute substantive or procedural academic matters, including grades. The complete graduate appeals process is set out in Section Eleven: Academic Appeals Policy of the current SGS Calendar. Students are advised to review this process and to carefully note the timelines for each of the four steps in the process. The first two steps, which occur at the Departmental level, are outlined below. If a student wishes to take an appeal to Step Three, they should refer to the SGS Calendar.

Step One: Informal Stage

a) In the case of a dispute, students must first attempt to resolve the matter with the instructor or other person concerning the grade in question.

b) Should the matter not be resolved with the instructor, and should the student wish to pursue the matter, the student must discuss the matter with the Graduate Coordinator.

Step Two: Departmental (Sector-Level) Appeal

Should the discussions undertaken in Step One fail to resolve the matter, the student may make a formal appeal, in writing, to the Chair of the Department within 8 weeks from the date of the decision under appeal. This request must be completed on an official GDAAC Notice of Appeal form, available from the SGS Calendar or the Department’s Graduate Coordinator. The SGS Calendar Section 11.3.2 refers to this appeal as the Graduate Department Academic Appeals Committee (GDAAC). For students enrolled in the MScOT program, the local GDAAC is the Rehabilitation Sciences Sector Academic Appeal Committee (RSSAAC). The Chair of the RSSAAC will determine, at his or her sole discretion, whether the appeal will proceed by way of an oral hearing and/or written submissions. In either case, at the conclusion of the hearing and/or review of the written submissions, the RSSAAC will make a recommendation to the Chair of the graduate department regarding the merits of the appeal. The Chair of the Department will then render the department-level appeal decision. GDAAC guidelines for department chairs are made available to all parties in an appeal.

Members and Quorum: The committee shall have a total membership of five: four graduate faculty members and one graduate student; in addition there will be alternate graduate student members, as set out below. One of the faculty members will serve as Chair of the Joint Committee. The Joint Committee Chair may assign a Secretary to the Rehabilitation Sciences Sector Academic Appeals Committee (RSSAAC) as required. Quorum for the Joint Committee is three members, including the Joint Committee Chair. For the purposes of an individual appeal, the Joint RSSAAC would report to the Chair of the Department in which the appeal is being launched.

a) Members: There shall be four graduate faculty members, one representative from each of the four rehabilitation departments (Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Department of Physical Therapy, Rehabilitation Sciences Institute and the Department of Speech-Language Pathology). There shall also be four graduate student members, one representative from each of the four rehabilitation departments listed above. Neither the Chair nor the Graduate Coordinator of the Department within the Rehabilitation Sciences Sector should be a member of the RSSAAC.

b) Chair of the Committee: The Rehabilitation Council of Chairs will nominate and appoint a Chair of the Joint Committee from amongst the faculty membership of RSSAAC.

c) Student Members: There will be four graduate student members, one representative from each of the four rehabilitation departments in OT, PT, RSI, and SLP. The graduate students in each department normally will choose the student member to serve on the Joint Committee. The four graduate student members will then rotate amongst themselves to have one student representative on the Joint Committee. The student representative will not be in the same department in which the individual appeal is being launched and will continue to hear the same appeal until it is resolved.

d) Alternate Members: Alternative Committee members shall be appointed by the Chair of the department every year, renewable once to serve on the Joint Committee. The alternate Chair of the Joint Committee will be rotated every year, renewable once between the four graduate faculty members. The graduate students in each department should choose an alternate student member to serve on the Joint Committee every year, renewable once. Once an alternate member is involved in an appeal, that alternate member shall continue to hear that same appeal until it is resolved.

e) Secretary: The Chair of the Joint Committee will assign a Secretary to the RSSAAC as required. The Secretary should be a non-academic who comes from the Sector pool of talents.

Step Three: Appeal to the SGS Graduate Academic Appeals Board (GAAB)

1. The student may appeal the decision of RSSAAC by filing a Notice of Appeal to the School of Graduate Studies’ Graduate Academic Appeals Board (GAAB) within eight weeks of the decision of the Chair of the department.

2. Filing a Notice of Appeal to GAAB is the first step for a student who is making an appeal regarding the termination of registration in a graduate program.